📖 Meaning
The name, title, or reputation matches the actual reality or quality of a person or thing. It is used to praise someone or something that truly deserves their fame, reputation, or label, rather than merely claiming it. It is a variant of the more standard idiom 名副其实.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant form of the more standard 名副其实, and neither has a clearly documented origin story in classical literature (出处: 无). It literally combines 名 (name or reputation), 符 (to match or accord with), 其 (its), and 实 (reality or actuality). The idea of matching name with reality traces back to the 名实 (name-actuality) philosophical debates of the Warring States and Han dynasties, where thinkers stressed that reputation should correspond to genuine substance. Over time, the character 符 (accord with) came to replace 副 (also meaning to match) in the popular spoken form, giving rise to this variant. Today both forms are widely accepted, though 名副其实 remains the standard dictionary form.
💡 Example Usage
这家餐馆的“网红”称号名符其实，每天门口都排起长队。
This restaurant truly lives up to its 'internet-famous' title, with a long line forming outside its door every day.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 名符其实
- Pinyin: míng fú qí shí
- Literal Translation: name, match, its, reality
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4